When partnerships are good, the results can be outstanding. That’s why AWB, the Employment Security Department (ESD) and Gov. Jay Inslee teamed up this year promote October as “Careers in Manufacturing Month” in Washington. That includes a new gubernatorial proclamation, highlighting the more than 282,000 high-wage jobs in Washington supported by the state's 7,326 manufacturing firms.

The goal is to create awareness around manufacturing as a career and connect employers and job seekers in an industry sector in need of skilled workers to fill the high-tech, high-wage jobs available in Washington state.

As part of the partnership, ESD’s job-seeker arm, WorkSource, launched www.WAManufacturingCareers.com today. The new microsite within WorkSourceWA.com is meant to connect job seekers with job creators in the state’s robust manufacturing sector.

This new website provides tools that make it easier for employers to post open positions and to find and hire qualified candidates. The site is also geared for those looking for a manufacturing job to post a resume and find opportunities that fit their skillset.

This partnership is the result of feedback from AWB members and outreach from ESD on the work the agency is doing to address the many sectors, including manufacturing, in need of qualified workers.

Employers – visit WorkSourceWA.com to create an account and post your open positions or search for candidates today.

Earlier this year we opposed Gov. Jay Inslee's effort to impose a carbon-emissions tax in the Washington state Legislature.

We now oppose a similar effort to impose a carbon tax -- now dubbed a pollution fee -- through Initiative 1631. We urge a no vote on I-1631 on the November ballot.

This does not mean we oppose all efforts to combat climate change, which we see as a real and serious threat to all of us.

But any effective effort to reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change should be done on a national scale at the federal level. A state-by-state approach such as the initiative adopts won't achieve much except to create an economic burden on those living in Washington state...